Author's Notes
June 1, 2004
This is a slightly revised version of A Darkened Doorway. Not much has changed at all, but thanks to danielerin, my wonderful new Brit-picker and grammar beta and to Forest, one of this fics most ardent supporters, this version is much more British. And, I hope all of those pesky typos are gone now!
This story started a couple of months ago as an idea from reading a list of subjects for the HP Ficathon. I wrote one page of the idea and left it, instead choosing to concentrate on completing Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered.
Wednesday, while killing time in a Laundromat (long story) I came upon the page I had written and decided to try to finish it. This, is the result. Of course, it being me, a one shot four page ficlet has turned into 45 with multiple chapters. Whether this is good or bad remains to be seen.
This is my attempt to write something other than fluffy romance. I'm rating it R for language, sexual innuendo and lots of f-bombs.
The beginning of this story takes place in a 'red light district' in London. Vleigh thinks they have outlawed those types of areas, and I have no idea. Since this is fiction and is therefore not grounded in reality, it's staying. It is inspired by the great city of New Orleans, and one particular establishment that has mannequin legs sitting on a swing, swinging from above the sign that says "Girls, Girls, Girls." Those legs are very distracting, especially after about 4 Hurricanes.
A big thank you to Phoenix Song for giving my villain motivation and to Vleigh and PS for betaing for me.
***
A DARKENED DOORWAY
by cheering charm
Chapter 1
"Get a room, for Christ's sake!"
Hermione shook her head in disgust at the couple plastered against the wall, exhibiting an inordinate amount of public affection.
"Just ignore it," Harry said. "Do you see them?"
"They're about 100 yards ahead, across the street in front of the 'Girls! Girls! Girls!' sign."
"I expect those two will walk right past that. And…they did."
"When I volunteered for this assignment, I didn't realize I was signing up for an education in male homosexuality."
"You haven't read a book about that?" Harry teased.
"Not lately, no."
They walked on in silence, stopping as their marks stopped, peering into windows, attempting to blend in with their surroundings.
That was no easy feat considering the area of London they were in. Maybe it was Hermione's imagination, but everyone seemed to be a couple. And rather open about their mutual desire, she thought as they passed a man, running his tongue across the cheek of a woman, a gesture she apparently liked and Hermione found revolting.
"Hold my hand," Hermione demanded, grabbing Harry's.
"We are sticking out a bit, aren't we?" Harry said. "Want me to lick your face?"
"As appealing as that sounds, no," Hermione said dryly, distracted despite herself by a man shagging a woman from behind in a darkened doorway.
Lovely. I'm a voyeur.
She shook her head as she peered down the street, eyeing their marks. Goyle and Crabbe were so easy to follow; their stupidity had not decreased with age. Not only did they wear eye-catching clothes (tonight they were wearing absurdly bright island shirts), but they walked as slow as their brains worked- at a snail's pace.
As they crept down the street, the crowd started changing and thickening to reflect the shift in business. Men were holding hands with other men, women, some who looked like men, were walking arm in arm with other women. One thing didn't change: the public display of affection.
"That's not something you see every day," Harry said, turning his head to watch two stunningly beautiful women show the world how they felt about each other. "Unfortunately," he added with a leer.
"Can we stay focused here, please?"
"You're one to talk. I saw you watching that couple in the doorway. Perve."
Ignoring him, Hermione said, "Where did they go?"
"Right back there," Harry said, pointing behind them.
"No, you pervert, Crabbe and Goyle!"
The brightly colored shirts across the street were gone. Harry pulled Hermione across the street by the hand, holding his other up to stop traffic as they crossed. They walked rapidly up the pavement, dodging people, looking around frantically. Thoughts of having to explain to Moody why two of his best Aurors had lost track of two of the stupidest Death Eaters ran through Hermione's mind.
"You were distracted? By what?"
"Well, Harry was watching these two hot chicks feel each other up and I was preoccupied by the image of two people fucking in a doorway."
We have got to find them right now! Hermione thought desperately.
"Shit!" she heard Harry exclaim before he pushed her into a doorway that led to the offices above the stores on the street. Before she knew or understood what was happening, Harry's lips were on hers.
"Crabbe and Goyle are coming toward us," he said into her mouth.
"Right," she replied wondering how long they would have to stay like this at the rate those two walked.
She felt Harry move closer to her, into the shadows of the doorway, and press his body to hers.
Are his hands around my waist? she wondered vaguely, as his lips softened from a chaste, stage kiss into something she wasn't expecting. He ran his tongue along her lips and she instinctively opened her mouth, tasting Harry for the first time.
Hermione would reason later that her response to Harry had more to do with the atmosphere they were surrounded by than him. But, she would never forget the reaction, despite her willingness to.
She wrapped her fingers in his hair and pulled his head closer to her, her tongue frantically exploring his mouth. She felt his hands roam to her backside as he pulled her hips closer to him, squeezing her arse in the process.
Are we still pretending here? she wondered hazily, as one of his hands roamed up underneath her shirt and to her breast.
The same moment she registered that Harry's hand was up her shirt she realized that it wasn't Harry's wand she was feeling on her abdomen.
That was what shocked her back to reality.
They pulled apart abruptly, both gasping for air, matching looks of bewilderment on their faces. Harry quickly removed his hand from her breast, leaving her bra slightly askew. She looked at his lips, swollen and red from kissing her, and had the urge to kiss him again. She reluctantly moved her eyes to his, finding him staring at her lips as if he had never seen them before. Fog slowly disappeared from the edges of his glasses, which were slightly out of kilter on his nose. He straightened them absently and leaned back out of the doorway, looking for Crabbe and Goyle. Hermione took the opportunity to discreetly straighten her bra.
"Come on," he said hoarsely before clearing his throat. "They've gone past."
They followed in awkward silence, both looking fixedly on the backs of the Death Eaters. The fluttering in Hermione's stomach wouldn't stop - as if each step she took was a missed stair. Thoughts were swirling in Hermione's mind, none of which would slow down long enough to allow her to analyze what had just happened. As a result, she felt slightly dazed and very confused.
"Did they just turn into an alley?" she asked.
"I think so," Harry said, reaching in his jacket for his wand. Hermione did the same, and they turned the corner into the alley, ready for what might be waiting for them.
They looked cautiously around the deserted alley. An overflowing rubbish bin was on the left wall, under a rickety metal fire exit. Harry looked up the fire exit, while Hermione walked cautiously down the opposite wall, to the end of the alley. A chain link fence with a 'Beware of Dog' sign greeted her. Behind the locked gate was the remainder of the empty alley, boxed in on three sides by the brick walls of the surrounding stores.
She turned to find Harry walking towards her. "They're gone."
"Wrong."
Harry whirled around and Hermione brought her wand up, searching for the source of the unmistakable grunt of Goyle. She heard a familiar incantation, and Goyle appeared slowly, as if being poured out of a bucket. Moments later, Crabbe appeared the same way.
"You two never did give us enough credit," Goyle said derisively.
"Enjoy your little snogging session back there?" Crabbe said with a leer, looking pointedly at Harry's crotch. "I see you did, Potter. You really shouldn't wear such tight pants, especially in this neighborhood," he said, pursing his lips and kissing the air.
"You are disgusting, Crabbe," Hermione said.
Crabbe shrugged his shoulders.
"Wonder what your boyfriend would think about your little display back there, Mudblood," Goyle said with a sneer.
Hermione narrowed her eyes and opened her mouth as Goyle said, "Expelliarmus!" The force of the spell knocked Hermione off of her feet and her wand went flying into the air and over the locked fence behind her. She fell to the ground and saw brightly colored flashes light up the alleyway.
"Accio wand!" she shouted, scrambling to her feet. She turned to find Goyle rubbing his eyes and screaming, apparently on the receiving end of a conjunctivitus curse from Harry.
"Serpentsortia!"
A long, thick snake flew out of Crabbe's wand, encircling Harry's neck. Harry's face began to redden as the snake wrapped itself tightly around Harry's throat, rendering his ability to speak parseltongue completely useless. Harry clawed frantically at the slippery snake, gagging and gasping for air.
"Immobulus!" Hermione shouted, freezing Crabbe mid incantation. She turned her attention to the snake wrapped around Harry's neck. Harry's face was turning a dangerous shade of purple. She said the first thing that came to her mind, hoping it would work.
"Vipera evanesco!"
The snake disappeared in a puff of black smoke, and Harry fell to his knees, gasping for air. She took a step toward him as she felt the unmistakable energy of a curse hit her body. As she fell to the ground, she saw Goyle, eyes seeping with puss, pointing his wand in her general direction. Confusion flooded through her as she felt her insides explode. He didn't say anything, she thought as the world around her fell away.
Although she felt nothing she knew she was laying on the ground, her eyes staring up at the sky. Where are the stars? Why is everything so black? The darkness moved in around her, muting everything but the sound of her shallow breathing.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" she heard someone whisper, and she felt thudding on the ground nearby. She heard more urgent whispering as she gagged, turned her head and threw up. The thudding returned, closer, and stopped, followed by a moaning and a clatter.
"Hermione?" she heard, her head being lifted from the ground and placed on something soft. She forced her eyes to focus and saw two bright lights reflected down on her. A slight movement and the lights became Harry's eyes, his face etched with worry inches from hers.
She looked at his lips again and was disappointed to see they were thin and white. Where did his puffy lips go? She tried to lift her hand, but her body refused to listen. A sharp pain pierced her side and she groaned.
"Hermione?" she heard Harry call anxiously. "You're going to be okay. I've called for a mediwizard. They'll be here soon. Just hang on, okay?"
She saw tears streaming down his face. This must be bad, she thought, as another pain shot through her.
"Harry," she said. Fluid rushed into her throat and she coughed. Flecks of red fluid shot from her mouth and landed on Harry's face, spraying his glasses. She turned her head and coughed again, blood pouring out of her mouth.
I'm dying.
She turned her head and looked at Harry, who was crying openly now. "We should have done that a long time ago," she said weakly, as her eyes drooped closed and a cool black shroud enveloped her.